books

While I always seem to have a stack of books to read, I’m always thrilled when books come out that somehow have me manage to ignore that pile in order to delve into them. Tomorrow (February 24th), two such books will be available here in the US.

The first is p53: The Gene that Cracked the Cancer Code by Sue Armstrong, a writer based in the UK (where this book has already been out for a few weeks.) Being a cell biologist, I am so excited to read the narrative Sue has written about this very important gene that is central to keeping us cancer free. It is such a well-studied gene that there are certainly many important scientists and physicians playing a role in the book.

The weekend of January 24th, I was in Chicago for a meeting of nerdy, geeky, and artistic minds at an invitation only event called ORDcamp held at the Google offices. It was great fun and I met some fantastic folks doing incredible things!

I threw several necklaces in my bag for the trip and when Saturday came, the two above were the narrow downed choices

Saturday, January 24 from noon to 4pm (in YOUR timezone) is time set aside to sit down and read for the National Read-a-thon Day as sponsored by the National Book Foundation whose mission is to expand the audience for literature in America.

At Read Science! Jeff and I want to encourage you to take some time to read a book of your choice that day in a show of support for literacy. You don’t have to read science, as any reading is great for the mind. However, if you want to read some science, you can certainly look to us to help you make some great choices. Connect with us on Facebook if you want to start a discussion about books!

My son, Andy, is home from graduate school, where he is studying atmospheric sciences, specifically researching climate change issues. These are two of the books I see he brought to read (checked out from the library, no less): Broca’s Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science by Carl Sagan, and one that has me intrigued– Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo. Over the years, he has played bass in several bands, including some that might be characterized as Emo, and others as some sort of “death metal”, so a book looking at the phenomenon in teens about those musical influences doesn’t surprise me.

He is a big Carl Sagan fan, and I suppose I am to blame/thank. One night when he was 19 years old, he came to my room and said his friends had suggested he read some books by Carl Sagan and then asked if I had any. All I had to do was to reach over to my night stand and hand him Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark.

So inspired by that book was he that he recently acquired a tattoo with some very apt imagery:

It’s an impressive piece of art on his arm there, even though I’m not a tattoo wearer myself. I mean, if you have to have a tattoo that reflects who you are at your core, then I’m really pleased that this is who my son has become.

We started our new season conversing with a science-communication power couple : Jennifer Ouellette and Sean M. Carroll, who happen to be married to each other. The books providing discussion material were Jennifer Ouellette’s _Me, Myself and Why: Searching for the Science of Self_, and Sean Carroll’s _The Particle at the End of the Universe: How the Hunt for the Higgs Boson Leads Us to the Edge of a New World_. As usual, we ran out of time before we ran out of conversation.More

Today, the 44th anniversary of the first moon landing with Neil Armstrong’s and Buzz Aldrin’s first steps on the moon, I present to you some great books to read about space travel, each with their own video, whether it is a trailer for a movie made based on the book or a proper book trailer, a more recent phenomenon.

This is the first in a series of five posts leading up to my trip to India to examine issues of child survival with the International Reporting Project via Johns Hopkins University with significant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. For the duration of the trip, I am to consider my self a New Media Journalist with IRP.

Infectious diseases are common all over the world. You probably know them as generally communicable diseases of bacterial, viral or protozoan origin that will enter the body and infect it, causing illness and sometimes leading to death, especially if the body is weakened by malnutrition or stressful environmental factors.